13th April 2016 UPDATE
Zebpay crosses Rs 100 crores trade volume in 10 months, becoming the first Indian bitcoin company to touch this milestone.
See: Article in Economic Times
8th April 2016 UPDATE
We just released a What is Bitcoin in 2 mins video:
I along with Mahin and Saurabh started zebpay, one of India’s leading bitcoin company. Mahin, my co-founder has been involved with bitcoins since 2011, which in bitcoin world is from the beginning. He had also started India’s first bitcoin company in early 2013. We started zebpay with a mission to bring bitcoins to everyone for everyday use.
zebpay is the world’s simplest mobile bitcoin wallet. A bitcoin wallet is the software where you store and spend your bitcoins.
Fun fact: If you had bitcoins worth Rs 5,000 in 2010, they would be worth Rs 7.5 crores today 🙂
Want to know why bitcoin is revolutionary and why you should own at least a few, watch the 20 min video presentation I did ‘Bitcoins, a simple explanation’ at India’s largest bitcoin conference hosted by us in March this year.
zebpay proudly came out as winner at CoinAgenda 2014, Las Vegas among 400 bitcoin companies worldwide. zebpay Android App has crossed 10,000 downloads and the iPhone app is now also available.
With zebpay,
- you can buy bitcoins worth Rs 100 or more (*Android only / coming soon for iPhone)
- send bitcoins to your sibling or friend anywhere in the world simply using their mobile number just like Whatsapp and
- buy Flipkart, Amazon, MakeMyTrip, BookMyShow vouchers at 10% off.
Soon you will be able to do airtime top up with bitcoins.
Keep your eyes open for bitcoins, you’ll increasingly see it is one of the world’s most important developments.
To know more about bitcoins, follow us:
facebook.com/zebpay | twitter.com/zebpay | blog.zebpay.com
To get started with your first bitcoins, download zebpay and get 100 bits free on download.
4th March 2016 UPDATE
Zebpay Releases New Set of Powerful Features for Pro Bitcoiners
Zebpay today announced a new set of app features exclusively for pro bitcoiners. Already available on Google Play, the app’s new features allows users to set their own bitcoin price (bid / ask), keep Rs balance in app to buy bitcoin instantly and check transaction status using transaction id.
Delivering on the promise to provide users with easiest way to buy / sell bitcoins, today’s release adds on features needed for fast and error-free transactions. These features are available to all existing and new users who download the latest version and add significantly to Zebpay’s prominent features.
In a span of 6 months, Zebpay has become the biggest bitcoin company in India. Crossing 25,000 downloads, Zebpay did Rs 20 crores ($3 million) turnover and 30,000 transactions in February 2016. And Indians topped up airtime and purchased vouchers with bitcoins worth Rs 10 lacs ($15,000) last month using Zebpay app.
New Features Highlights:
● Rs Account
Users can now see their Rs balance in Zebpay app. When users sell bitcoins, their Zebpay Rs account will be credited. A user can either withdraw this amount to his / her bank account or use it to instantly buy bitcoins in future. For pro users, rather than having to do a bank transfer for every buy and sell, you can now simply maintain a Rs balance in your Zebpay Rs account.
● Trade (Bid/Ask) – Now set your own bitcoin price on Zebpay
Yet another huge feature launched for pro bitcoiners. Users can now set a buy (bid) or sell (ask) price for buying / selling bitcoins. Zebpay will execute this order on finding a matching offer. So now, you can set prices and be free while Zebpay will take care of getting the best price for you!
● Bitcoin transaction id – On user demand
The most requested feature from users is finally on the floor. Now users can see the bitcoin network transaction id when they send bitcoins to a bitcoin address. This means no need to call customer support to find out the status of transaction. Users can simply click on the transaction id and check the status by themselves. This will also save Zebpay, a few calls especially when the bitcoin network gets a little busy 🙂
We started Zebpay with a mission to make bitcoins simple. We are focused on providing the simplest way for users to buy, sell, store and spend bitcoins. Today we are excited to launch two huge new features for our pro users on Android. And coming very soon on iPhone.
Our users have appreciated our hard work. Our Android app is highly rated at 4.4 stars out of 5 and the ratings are climbing every month. And the reviews and forums are full of congratulatory messages from our users appreciating Zebpay’s simplicity and our customer service.
China did a record breaking volume of Rs 20,000 crores in only 24 hours this week. India is just getting started. Zebpay is working hard to make sure that Indians get the best bitcoin experience in the world.
Don’t wait to buy your first bitcoin, download Zebpay now.
*****
Read more about Bitcoins here:
What entrepreneurs can learn from Bitcoins
*******
asha chaudhry
wow. we have a bitcoin wallet in the house!!!
sandeep, do keep sharing insights on bitcoins with us. i reckon many of us don’t know enough about bitcoins.
am adding alok’s two articles on bitcoins to the related reads below your post!
Tejash D Mehta
Nice presentation Sandeep . Lets meet once Nishant is back in Ahmedabad.
Sandeep Goenka
Hi Asha
Thanks so much for all the help and shout out! Yes we bitcoiners are a rare species but hopefully not for long 🙂 I loved Alok’s articles and will use some of his content in future!
Sandeep Goenka
Hi Tejash
Thanks and yes lets do that.
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
Can you explain the RBI stance on Bit Coins?
As I understood, RBI has banned the use and storage of bitcoins for Indians?
Read:
Date : Dec 24, 2013
RBI cautions users of Virtual Currencies against Risks
The Reserve Bank of India has today cautioned the users, holders and traders of Virtual currencies (VCs), including Bitcoins, about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to.
The Reserve Bank has mentioned that it has been looking at the developments relating to certain electronic records claimed to be “Decentralised Digital Currency” or “Virtual Currency” (VCs), such as, Bitcoins, litecoins, bbqcoins, dogecoins etc., their usage or trading in the country and the various media reports in this regard.
The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. No regulatory approvals, registration or authorisation is stated to have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying on such activities. As such, they may pose several risks to their users, including the following:
VCs being in digital form are stored in digital/electronic media that are called electronic wallets. Therefore, they are prone to losses arising out of hacking, loss of password, compromise of access credentials, malware attack etc. Since they are not created by or traded through any authorised central registry or agency, the loss of the e-wallet could result in the permanent loss of the VCs held in them.
Payments by VCs, such as Bitcoins, take place on a peer-to-peer basis without an authorised central agency which regulates such payments. As such, there is no established framework for recourse to customer problems / disputes / charge backs etc.
There is no underlying or backing of any asset for VCs. As such, their value seems to be a matter of speculation. Huge volatility in the value of VCs has been noticed in the recent past. Thus, the users are exposed to potential losses on account of such volatility in value.
It is reported that VCs, such as Bitcoins, are being traded on exchange platforms set up in various jurisdictions whose legal status is also unclear. Hence, the traders of VCs on such platforms are exposed to legal as well as financial risks.
There have been several media reports of the usage of VCs, including Bitcoins, for illicit and illegal activities in several jurisdictions. The absence of information of counterparties in such peer-to-peer anonymous/ pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.
The Reserve Bank has also stated that it is presently examining the issues associated with the usage, holding and trading of VCs under the extant legal and regulatory framework of the country, including Foreign Exchange and Payment Systems laws and regulations.
Ajit Prasad
Assistant General Manager
Press Release : 2013-2014/1261
Sandeep Goenka
Sure Alok. Firstly, Bitcoins is legal in India 🙂
1) RBI had ‘cautioned’ the users and not ‘banned’ as you can see from the circular itself.
To set the context, the circular was released in December 2013 when the bitcoin prices increased 10x from $100 to $1150 in 1 month. This attracted lot of attention from media, regular people, speculators and also governments. At this time governments and central banks did not truly understand this technology. Not only RBI but central banks in many countries released similar cautionary notes to warn regular people to avoid getting involved as a quick rich scheme.
2) Since December 2013, most western governments have now given bitcoins legal status. Bitcoin is a network global technology similar to the internet. It would almost be impossible for any country to stop the bitcoin network. More so, now that bitcoins is clearly legal in many countries, it will now be almost impossible and imprudent for any country to ban bitcoins and face the risk of irrelevance in the development of one of the most important financial technology invented in modern times.
Bitcoin Worldwide Legal Status Map: https://team.cartodb.com/u/andrew/viz/365aa620-c273-11e4-bac7-0e018d66dc29/embed_map
3) zebpay and the Bitcoin India Alliance works closely with Nishith Desai Associates (NDA), one of India’s top law firms with billion dollar companies as customers.
In April 2015, NDA released a white paper on Bitcoins – Legal and Tax Consideration in India which clearly states that bitcoins is not illegal in India.
Link to the pdf: https://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Research%20Papers/Bitcoins.pdf
4) The Center for Internet and Society (CIS) which was highly influential in helping us win the war on net neutrality also released a detailed post which concluded that bitcoins in not illegal in India, though of course, the government always has a right to make it illegal in future. This is also debatable according to constitutional rights but hopefully that matter won’t arise.
Link: https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/bitcoin-legal-regulation-india
5) Indian bitcoin companies are operating legally with complete registration with ROC and required Indian government bodies. We enjoy normal banking relationships. One Indian bitcoin company has also got US funding via legit RBI route.
If you are convinced, you can buy bitcoins for as low as Rs 100 via zebpay Android or iPhone app. *shameless pitch 🙂
asha chaudhry
hey sandeep,
many congrats on raising funds!!!!!!!!!!
https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/zebpay-raises-1m-to-develop-bitcoin-technology/50464950
Raja Santosh Panda
Excerpts from a good a source https://medium.stfi.re/@octskyward/the-resolution-of-the-bitcoin-experiment-dabb30201f7?sf=eodwwg#.7wzpvcgc5 , raises some good point. At least presents some counter points , which I thought, we as audience should know.
“From the start, I’ve always said the same thing: Bitcoin is an experiment and like all experiments, it can fail. So don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose.”
“Why has Bitcoin failed? It has failed because the community has failed. What was meant to be a new, decentralised form of money that lacked “systemically important institutions” and “too big to fail” has become something even worse: a system completely controlled by just a handful of people. Worse still, the network is on the brink of technical collapse. The mechanisms that should have prevented this outcome have broken down, and as a result there’s no longer much reason to think Bitcoin can actually be better than the existing financial system.”
“Allowed buyers to take back payments they’d made after walking out of shops, by simply pressing a button (if you aren’t aware of this “feature” that’s because Bitcoin was only just changed to allow it)”
Sandeep Goenka
I am happy to update this post to let all the bitcoiners at Rodinhood know what’s happening with Zebpay and it gives a glimpse at the growing bitcoin scene in India.
I guess when bitcoins breaks all its past records worldwide and in India, it costs a decent Rs 29,000 to buy 1 bitcoin, a price which was just a few Rs in 2010, number of transactions crosses 250,000 per day on the network and every financial institution worth its salt has some so called bitcoin/blockchain ‘lab’ in their company, bitcoin is far from dead :).
Make no mistake, bitcoin is as healthy as it’s ever been and drawing more attention than it ever has. Every additional day that a network technology like bitcoin survives makes it exponentially stronger.
Soumen Das
Hi Sandeep,
What is your view on ethereum as well as blockchain potential in India?
asha chaudhry
hey sandeep,
many congrats!! just read about the 100 crore turnover!
https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/bitcoin-wallet-startup-zebpay-has-crossed-rs-100-crore-turnover-in-just-10-months/51887895
Sandeep Goenka
Thanks Asha
China does a turnover of Rs 10,000 crores ‘per day’ 🙂 However, we started at a time when Indians were highly skeptical of this technology. However, we have proved that it is our responsibility to explain the power of cryptocurrencies to Indians and make it simple and accessible. And if we do that, just like other countries, bitcoins is here to disrupt the financial industry.
Chandrasekar Ramakrishnan
Why do you insist on PAN verification when the whole objective of bit coin trading is being anonymous? Also, I see the rates in Zebpay are not so favorable to customers. Or Am I wrong?
Sandeep Goenka
Hi Chandrasekar, valid point. As bitcoin is a new technology, the government has valid concerns around its potential misuse. As a legit company, during this transition phase into the adoption of this new technology, we want to be on the right side of the law. So it has become common practice among bitcoin exchanges worldwide to do KYC process.
We guarantee the best bitcoin rates in India. Before we entered the market, rates in India were 5-10% higher than international rates. We are responsible to bring it down to international rates.